Calhoun County creates Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to expand housing tools

The Calhoun County Board of Commissioners voted 5–0 on Feb. 5 to create a county Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, a new tool county officials say will help assemble sites, capture tax increment financing (TIF) and support redevelopment including housing.

County staff framed the authority as a gap‑filler for townships and villages without their own brownfield boards. Doug Farrell, assistant county administrator, explained the financing mechanism at length and said local TIF capture can help pay for environmental assessment, remediation and infrastructure for redevelopment projects. Krista Trout Edwards, director of the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority, outlined how the land bank could work with the BRA to assemble and hold blighted parcels for redevelopment.

Farrell said consultants modeled four scenarios for a sample scattered‑site housing plan of about 34 units. He described a range of long‑term revenue captures across options and noted that a 30‑year capture produces larger funds for reimbursement and a potential revolving fund, while shorter capture windows (for example, 15 years) are sometimes used to return taxes to other jurisdictions sooner. "TIF is taking a snapshot in time of what a property is worth now, and that difference after redevelopment is what can be captured," Farrell said.

Commissioners asked about the downside for smaller taxing jurisdictions. "What I mean by that is there's obviously some units of government that aren't going to see that revenue that they would expect to receive on a revitalization," one commissioner asked, noting the possibility that townships could lose expected tax receipts when a portion is captured by a BRA. Farrell and Trout Edwards acknowledged that interlocal negotiations and limits on capture length are common mitigations.

The board also voted to appoint an initial slate of BRA board members, recommending that the county use the same Economic Development Corporation board members for efficiency. The resolution passed unanimously.

Why it matters: County leaders said the BRA expands local options to finance cleanup and infrastructure on blighted properties and to support "missing middle" and workforce housing that developers otherwise might not pursue.

Next steps: Staff said brownfield planning and specific brownfield plans will follow the creation vote; state approvals (Act 381 plans routed to housing and environmental agencies) would be required for state capture options.